Michael Ramirez Essay: Hunter Blows It 12-10-23
From America's Premier Editorial Cartoonist
Hunter Blows The Deal
by Michael P. Ramirez, December 10, 2023
You may be familiar with the show Let’s Make a Deal. There is a current version hosted by comedian Wayne Brady. Wayne is pretty hilarious, but I remember watching the original show on a tube television featuring Monty Hall.
The premise of the show is to get people to make deals. Contestants dress in outrageous outfits to stand out in a crowd so that they are selected by the host. They then get to play assorted games, which lead to various choices or “deals” with the possibility of prizes ranging from cash, trips, furniture, products, new cars, and an assortment of consolation or joke prizes.
The tension on the show stems from the contestant initially being given a decent prize but then presented with the option of gambling it away for a mystery gift or a hidden prize in a box or behind a curtain, representing a better “deal” than the one in hand. More often than not, the contestant ends up with a booby prize.
That’s the same storyline behind Hunter Biden and his legal troubles. Hunter Biden has a history of shady financial deals. He was caught with a myriad of tax offenses and illegal gun possession. Photos on a computer he abandoned at a repair shop revealed him in possession of drugs and a 9mm handgun.
Compounding his problems, the widow of his deceased brother, whom he was dating at the time, disposed of another gun he had in his possession while he was using drugs because she feared he might hurt himself or others and threw it in a trash bin. The gun was recovered and traced back to an illegal purchase by Hunter.
The gun charge was of little consequence alone. Combined with the drug use and the bigger problem of tax evasion, it represented a significant legal challenge to the President’s son.
This is where the similarity of Hunter’s life to Let’s Make a Deal begins... down to the leaked photos of him dressed like a game show contestant, complete with banana hammock, sunglasses, a pink feather boa, and a crack pipe.
The probe on Hunter Biden and his tax and business affairs began in 2018 with the Trump appointment of Republican prosecutor David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware. Hunter had made millions of dollars of income from overseas.
Weiss played the role of Monty Hall, offering Hunter to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges for his tax non-payments from 2016 to 2019 and an admission to purchasing the gun illegally while using drugs in July. In return, he would get immunity from prosecution and a diversionary agreement on the gun charge to avoid jail time.
The statute of limitations had lapsed on his 2014 to 2015 tax returns. From Hunter’s perspective, it was a pretty good deal.
Hunter had already borrowed $2 million from his friend, Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, to pay back taxes, penalties, and liens.
The deal fell apart when the prosecutors revealed that the immunity was limited and there was still an ongoing investigation. Hunter didn’t seem to care how it would affect his father’s campaign. He wanted the mystery prize.
Hunter rejected the deal in hand and went for curtain number two.
Unfortunately for Hunter, what was behind curtain number two was not a better deal but rather, David Weiss elevated to Special Counsel status, the continuing prosecution of the original tax and gun charges and now, an additional nine-count indictment in California that includes three felony and six misdemeanor charges. The 56-page indictment outlines the charge of evading $1.4 million in taxes, failure to file and pay taxes, filing false and fraudulent returns, using “false business deductions,” and ignoring tax obligations.
The indictment read, “The Defendant engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 Million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019,” and spending “Millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying taxes.”
The indictment added, “Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the defendant spent his money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes.”
$872,000 alone was reportedly spent on prostitutes and sex club memberships.
What’s behind curtain number three? Perhaps an exotic vacation. If convicted, Hunter faces a maximum of 17 years in prison.
What’s the old saying? A bird in the hand is worth two jailbirds and 17 years in the slammer.
Have a great week.
Best wishes,
-m
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Links of Interest:
Hunter Biden Indicted on Tax Charges— Scott Johnson, Power Line
Will Hunter Throw Joe Under the Bus? —Roger Kimball, American Greatness
Hunter Biden’s memoir comes back to haunt him as California indictment references it repeatedly —Adam Shaw, Fox News
Hunter Biden’s universe of legal problems, briefly explained —Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
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Right on target - very succinct.